John Hennen FRSE (24 April 1779 – 3 November 1828) was an Irish-born military surgeon and author of the acclaimed medical textbook ''The Principles of Military Surgery''.

Life

He was born on 24 April 1779 in

Castlebar Castlebar () is the county town of County Mayo, Ireland. Developing around a 13th century castle of the de Barry family, from which the town got its name, the town now acts as a social and economic focal point for the surrounding hinterland. W ...

, County Mayo in Ireland, the son of Dr. James Hennen, a surgeon. He went to school in

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

then studied medicine at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

. In 1798, he appeared as an assistant Surgeon in the

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...

Militia. His first major tour of duty was with Sir.

Ralph Abercromby Lieutenant General Sir Ralph Abercromby (7 October 173428 March 1801) was a British soldier and politician. He rose to the rank of lieutenant-general in the British Army, was appointed Governor of Trinidad, served as Commander-in-Chief, Ir ...

and the 40th Regiment of Foot intended for

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

, but waylaid in

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

en route. Here he served until returning to England around 1800, where he was promoted to full surgeon, serving the 7th Garrison Battalion. He was then transferred to the 2nd Battalion of the 30th Foot Regiment and accompanied them to

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

as part of the ongoing

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...

, under the overall medical charge of Dr. James McGrigor. He continued to serve through many battles until the peace of 1814, when he returned to

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

as a GP in Dumfries. After Napoleon's escape from Elba and re-assembly of the French Army, Hennen was again called to serve his country, and Director General of Military Medical Services, Dr James McGrigor ordered him to

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

. As a resultant, in June 1815 he served medical duties during the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...

, rather oddly, accompanied by his son and daughter. Following Napoleon's defeat, Hennen was promoted to Deputy Inspector of (Military) Hospitals in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. In February 1816 he returned to England to work on the staff of the main naval hospital at

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

. his period of relative peace enabled him to start on his writings. In October 1818 he moved to

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

where he began lecturing in Military Surgery at the

. In 1819 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. His proposers were

Thomas Charles Hope Thomas Charles Hope (21 July 1766 – 13 June 1844) was a British physician, chemist and lecturer. He proved the existence of the element strontium, and gave his name to Hope's Experiment, which shows that water reaches its maximum density a ...

, Andrew Duncan, and Sir David Brewster. In August 1820 the University of Edinburgh granted him his doctorate (MD). In 1821 he returned to service in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

firstly returning to

then, after establishing a convalescent hospital in Gozo, going to Corfu in April 1825, before finally locating to

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

in December 1825. On 17 January 1824 he attended at the death-bed of

Sir Thomas Maitland Lieutenant General The Right Honourable Sir Thomas Maitland (10 March 1760 – 17 January 1824) was a British soldier and British colonial governor. He also served as a Member of Parliament for Haddington from 1790 to 1796, 1802–06 and 1812 ...

along with Dr Robert Grieves and Alexander Broadfoot. He died in

during an

epidemic An epidemic (from Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of patients among a given population within an area in a short period of time. Epidemics of infectious ...

yellow fever Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. ...

at 6 am on 3 November 1828, aged only 49. A memorial plaque was erected in the King's Chapel, Gibraltar paid for by medical admirers around the globe.

Publications

*''Hospital Gangrene'' (c.1816) *''The Arrangement and Police of Hospitals'' (1818) *''Principles of Military Surgery'' (1820, second edition 1825) *''The Medical Topography of the Mediterranean'' (1830)

Family

He was married to Miss Malcolm from Dunfermline. They had five children. Their daughter Martha Hennen married Deputy Assistant Commissary General William Condamine of Guernsey in 1822.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hennen, John 1779 births 1828 deaths 19th-century British medical doctors Alumni of the University of Edinburgh British Army regimental surgeons British Army personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars British Army personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Military personnel from County Mayo People from Castlebar People from County Mayo in health professions Royal Army Medical Corps officers 30th Regiment of Foot officers 40th Regiment of Foot officers British Militia officers